After listening to Crystal Lake watershed expert and adviser Gary Schaefer two nights in a row, it occurred to me that there was a more imminent threat to the purity of Crystal Lake than McHenry County College.

It’s the soon-to-be McHenry County Animal Control Shelter on Route 14 at the western end of Woodstock Street.

I brought up the question and here’s Schaefer’s response:

“Don’t put that use there.”

Maybe I misread his body and facial reaction, but he seemed aghast that the idea was even being contemplated.

I called up County Administrator Pete Austin and asked, “What is the county doing to keep the dog doo-doo from getting into Crystal Lake’s watershed?”

“It will picked up,” he replied. “We’re going to work with the city on this in terms of limited this. The excrement is going to be picked up.”

I, for one, am pleased that county government has this potential problem on its agenda.

Maybe I’ve watched too many Animal Planet shows where dog trainers take a hose and wash down the dog runs.

The forthcoming animal shelter is just too close to Crystal Lake for there to be any possibility of pollution from dozens of dogs’ excrement.

I called the Building Department of the City of Crystal Lake two weeks ago to ask what they planned to do to protect the watershed. Tuesday I was told to file a Freedom of Information request. So I did.

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The top photo is of where the McHenry County Animal Control Shelter will be located, as viewed from the street. The bottom picture is from around back near the south property line. Could this be where the dog runs will be located?